FOLLOWING a fortnight when two of boxing's most prolific stars lost title fights to edge them towards retirement, one of Liverpool's own former champions called time on his professional career.

FOLLOWING a fortnight when two of boxing's most prolific stars lost title fights to edge them towards retirement, one of Liverpool's own former champions called time on his professional career.

Gary Thornhill (right) has served Liverpool boxing for the past 11 years as a professional, peaking with his brief reign as British champion in 2000.

But after being stopped in his third consecutive title fight, he finally accepted time had caught up with him, and announced his retirement.

Speaking after his ninth-round stoppage loss to 24-year-old Mancunian Steve Foster Jnr, Thornhill told the MEN Arena crowd: "I'd like to take this opportunity to announce my retirement from the ring.

"I've had a good career and would like to thank everyone who has supported me over the years."

With applause still ringing in his ears, he told the ECHO: "I always said that if I lost again I would quit. I'm too proud a man to continue.

"The head is still willing but the body's just not what it was."

Again it was the body that led to Thornhill's undoing. And again it came after a positive start from the Old Swan fighter.

Winning the first two rounds convincingly, Thornhill looked on the verge of causing the first defeat in a 16-fight unbeaten run in the paid ranks for Salford prospect Foster.

Working well to the body, the Scouser set an early pace that caught Foster cold.

The best exchange came at the end of the second, when a looping right hand landed flush on Foster's chin, sending him back to his corner nursing a marked-up right eye.

It did little but sting the Mancunian into action, though, as the former two-time ABA champion came back with a strong three minutes in the third.

Repeatedly landing left hooks, Foster was taking advantage of Thornhill's low right guard, while his almost crouching attacking style started to cause the Scouser increasing problems.

Low blows, leading with the head and punching after the referee called break, Foster was using all the tricks one would more often associate with a veteran fighter.

Typically Thornhill was never going to go out quietly.

He battled back into the action in the fifth round by flicking Foster up from his stooping stance with uppercuts and by now both of the young champion's eyes needed the cold irons at the interval.

But the home fighter came back in the seventh, after an early low blow stole Thornhill's focus.

Again Foster's greater success was coming with the left hook, and although Thornhill's work-rate kept the contest close, he was starting to tire and absorb more shots.

The eighth started to follow a similar pattern to the rest of the fight, Thornhill taking his turn to press home an advantage, but the left hooks that had been landing with increasing vigour took their toll when one dropped Thorn-hill in the centre of the ring.

While he never really looked seriously hurt, psychologically it changed the fight completely.

He did not struggle to beat the count and return to his corner. But he came out for the ninth a beaten fighter and Foster completely changed his game-plan.

Surprisingly, against a man who had been stopped by body punches in his last two title chances, Foster had pretty much ignored Thornhill's midrift all night. But the knockdown changed that and he started to tear into Thorn-hill with a series of rib-finding punches.

Twice Thornhill went down on one knee as right hooks fired in under his left guard left him wincing with pain. Eventually, trainer John Rice threw in the towel with one minute 58 seconds gone in the round.